Apartment Building

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT APARTMENT BUILDING - PAGE 5

pepperb@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown family was displaced from its home Friday afternoon after a fire set by a 4-year-old boy playing with a lighter destroyed its South Potomac Street apartment. Dark gray smoke rose from the top-floor windows of an apartment at 423 S. Potomac St. in Hagerstown about 3 p.m. Friday. About 20 Hagerstown Fire Department firefighters moved between the apartment building to firetrucks blocking traffic before the blue and red three-story duplex, which is about a block north of Bester Elementary School.

andrews@herald-mail.com A 3-year-old boy playing with a lighter set a fire that significantly damaged five West Washington Street apartments on Friday, Hagerstown Assistant Fire Marshal Douglas DeHaven said Wednesday. The boy was playing with a lighter that ignited clothes in or near a basket in Apartment 2 at 614 W. Washington St., DeHaven said. Because a 3-year-old is not responsible for his actions in Maryland, the fire has been ruled an accident, according to DeHaven.

In Pulse's first serial fiction story, a sketchy private detective on his first big case pursues clues found in a trash bin. Chapter 4: On the scent The mysterious noises from the Waskotts' third-floor apartment, the crates transported from their room to a truck, the requests of french fries "for testing," the strange smell emanating from their room and growing stronger - clues buzzed in my brain. My first case was coming together with astonishing speed. I had to sit down for a moment to collect myself.

WILLIAMSPORT - Five people were displaced from their homes Sunday when flames swept through the third floor of a downtown Williamsport apartment building, according to fire officials and a report from the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Capt. Kevin Lewis, who was the incident commander on the scene for Williamsport Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said residents of three units planned to stay with family members after the two-alarm blaze. "We were standing here and heard a ... pop or gunfire, and the next thing we know, we saw smoke and flames coming out of the building," said Dean Martin, an East Salisbury Street resident who stood in an alley between his home and the back of the building, watching as firefighters tended to smoldering debris.

marlob@herald-mail.com From the confines of a motel room, Ernestine Nelson and her family are struggling to put their lives back in order after last Tuesday's devastating fire forced them from the apartment they shared. They are grateful they got out alive but the three adults and one preteen only have the clothes they had on that day. All their household possessions are gone and there was no renter's insurance. "The biggest thing we need is a place to rent with three bedrooms," Nelson said.

TRI-STATE - With summer around the corner and Memorial Day barbecues fast approaching, local fire officials are spreading the word that grilling too close to an apartment or town house building is not only dangerous, but illegal. "It's something that we struggle with every year, to raise awareness of the danger," said Jason Mowbray, deputy chief state fire marshal. According to Maryland state law, it is a violation to use a gas or charcoal grill on a balcony, under an overhang or within 15 feet of a dwelling other than a one- or two-family home, Mowbray said.

HAGERSTOWN - Three families were left without a home Saturday afternoon after fire damaged an apartment building at 145 S. Prospect St. No one was injured in the fire, which was called in Saturday around 12:30 p.m., said Ron Horn, deputy chief of the Hagerstown Fire Department. All three apartments in the three-story structure suffered "extensive damage," Horn said. The cause of the fire was not determined Saturday. John Huntzberry, 17, was showering in his second-floor apartment when he smelled smoke.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com MERCERSBURG, Pa. - The Mercersburg Borough Council voted to accept a historic apartment building that was gutted in a September fire in "as-is" condition with the stipulation that the borough pay to finish the demolition of the burned-out structure. The council agreed to accept the building Tuesday following a 40-minute executive session with the borough attorney, said Betty Stenger, chairwoman of the borough's Historical Architectural Review board.

TRI-STATE -- With summer around the corner and Memorial Day barbecues fast approaching, local fire officials are spreading the word that grilling too close to an apartment or town house building is not only dangerous, but illegal. "It's something that we struggle with every year, to raise awareness of the danger," said Jason Mowbray, deputy chief state fire marshal According to Maryland state law, it is a violation to use a gas or charcoal grill on a balcony, under an overhang or within 15 feet of a dwelling other than a one- or two-family home, Mowbray said.

WILLIAMSPORT Five people were displaced from their homes Sunday when flames swept through the third floor of a downtown Williamsport apartment building, according to fire officials and a report from the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Capt. Kevin Lewis, who was the incident commander on the scene for Williamsport Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said residents of three units planned to stay with family members after the two-alarm blaze. "We were standing here and heard a ... pop or gunfire, and the next thing we know, we saw smoke and flames coming out of the building," said Dean Martin, an East Salisbury Street resident who stood in an alley between his home and the back of the building, watching as firefighters tended to smoldering debris.